FC Bayern Women crown a historic season

As the last seconds ticked away at Cologne’s RheinEnergieSTADION, FC Bayern Women were no longer just standing on the pitch as cup winners, but as probably the strongest team in the club’s history. With the comfortable and fully deserved 4-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup final, the Munich girls sealed a second successive double and made the 2025/26 season the most successful ever.

It was a final that epitomised the whole season: controlled, mature, dominant and ruthless in the key moments. Against the long-time benchmark in the cup, Bayern made it quite clear who now leads the way in German women’s football.

A final with symbolic power

The backdrop could hardly have been greater. Wolfsburg wanted to give Alexandra Popp a fitting farewell in the last game of her defining era, while Bayern wanted to make it the perfect ending to an excellent season. After securing the league title early, cup glory was their next target – and they delivered. It took a little while for the game to get going, as neither side wanted to risk too much at the beginning. Wolfsburg set up with a back five in a low block and made the spaces tight. “Wolfsburg were very compact, which was annoying for us,” analysed Linda Dallmann after the match. “They played with five at the back. We had problems with that in the last match that Wolfsburg won against us; you just have to be patient.” Bayern Women demonstrated that exact patience, and in doing so showed the development of this team: calmness instead of rush, structure instead of chaos. The breakthrough arrived shortly before half-time. After a foul on Momoko Tanikawa in the penalty box, Georgia Stanway converted the resulting penalty to make it 1-0. The goal clearly dented Wolfsburg’s belief and gave Bayern added confidence.

Bayern take it up a notch after the break

What followed was perhaps the most impressive half of the season. Pernille Harder (59’) finished off an excellent attack with a header to make it 2-0 against her former club, and by now it was clear how much individual class was combined in this team. Tanikawa (77’) put the game to bed from Klara Bühl’s deflected cross shortly after, before Arianna Caruso (85’) put the icing on the cake with a delightful free kick. The 4-0 scoreline wasn’t just one-sided, it was a statement. “We were very dominant in the second half, we’ve earned it over the whole season,” added Dallmann. Wolfsburg, for years the dominant force in German women’s football and the record winners of the cup, at times looked unable to cope with the intensity, the energy and the tactical maturity of the Reds.

Best season in the club’s history

The cup win and the double are way more than just another trophy. They’re the natural consequence of a season in which FCB Women have set new standards: unbeaten in the league, title wrapped up with four matches to spare, first appearance in the Champions League semi-finals, a successful cup campaign without a single goal conceded and countless records. Above all, though, this team have grown into a unit that combines technical quality with mental strength. “It’s just great fun with this team,” said Giulia Gwinn. And you see that fun on and off the pitch. Setbacks such as the bitter elimination in Europe against FC Barcelona became motivation rather than disruption.

A new Bayern generation

This season has also been special because it’s been carried not by individual players, but by a strong collective which makes the difference: rotations work, young players are integrated into the team and injuries are compensated. For months, the impression has been of a team that didn’t just want to win titles but also developed a new identity; a team that’s arrived at the highest level in Europe. That’s why this cup final has special significance, both sporting and symbolic. For years, Wolfsburg dominated German women’s football. The emphatic win in the cup final made it clear, if it wasn’t already, that Bayern Women have assumed this role.

Cologne the conclusion of an incredible journey

As the players celebrated together in front of the fans at full time, in many ways it felt like the culmination of a long journey. The Meisterschale presentation a few days ago at the Campus, now the cup in Cologne. Before that, a season full of records, great European nights and a team who have grown week after week. Perhaps we will look back on this season in years to come and say: the most successful era in the history of FC Bayern Women began here. The final against Wolfsburg certainly felt like it.

🗞️ The match report of the final against Wolfsburg: 

The cup campaign in review: